Our Approach

We envision a world where Black, Brown, and Indigenous people are thriving because the processes and systems that shape our daily lives create equitable opportunities for everyone to do and be well.

We work to bring this vision to life by:

  • investing in mutually beneficial relationships where community members bring their knowledge and leadership in designing and creating tailored, action-oriented products 

  • leveraging our expertise in research, evaluation, coaching, community-centered engagement, and organizational strategy support to create the structural changes necessary to eliminate inequities.

Our Values

  • We aim to counteract generations of trauma, exploitation, and harm done in the name of research by partnering with impacted communities to understand and take purposeful action towards the change they desire. To do that, we proactively and authentically partner with Black, Brown, and Indigenous people to eliminate white supremacy, the systemic impact of racism, the harms of anti-Blackness, and the oppressive policies and practices that prevent marginalized people from exercising their full humanity.

  • In every project, we ensure all participants develop a mutual understanding of key language, shared values, research gaps, and project goals. Throughout our community-led processes, we reflect and adapt to what we’re learning to reflect the knowledge and lived experiences of impacted community members and deliver accountable and actionable outcomes.

  • Recognizing that meaningful change work will bring tension and discomfort, we commit to collectively processing institutional and systemic harms, uncovering contentious histories and terminology, and grappling with difficult questions. We facilitate dialogue with community and partners to navigate conflict in ways that lead to deeper understandings of the change we seek, our respective roles in that change, and the actions required to move us forward. 

Our Model

For generations, researchers have taken data from those most harmed by injustice and released findings utterly removed from the experiences and desires of the people most impacted.

Research in Action rejects these extractive, top-down approaches to traditional research and community engagement. Instead, we redirect power to impacted community through our Equity in Action model. From naming the problem to identifying solutions, we prioritize community expertise to repair relationships and elevate tangible solutions to complex problems.

  • We investigate with partners and community members the history and context that has led to the proposed project, honestly identifying institutional harms, pain points, and impacted partnerships. We define shared values, as well as stakeholder goals and interests.

  • We create a community action council made up of individuals who are personally impacted by a specific issue. Because they understand the issue better than anyone else, we elevate community members as project leaders in accurately identifying and solving the problems they experience.

  • We support community members to use their expertise to describe the problem, design the process to understand it and develop tools to gather information.

  • We train action council members in data collection to work with the research team to connect with community members through a shared purpose to solve a common problem.

  • We make data understandable and clear so community members who haven’t been part of the action council can make sense of what it means, identify where we have misunderstood or made mistakes, and surface multiple solutions.

  • Based on the data and community input, we identify policies, practices and systems changes that will lead to concrete improvements in community members’ lives — and shift relationships and power dynamics between the institutional partner and impacted community beyond the project.

The Equity in Action Process

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FAQS

We approach our work with a high degree of intentionality. Learn more in our collection of short FAQ videos.

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  • “I’ve done similar work with other research organizations, and this felt more equitable. With other groups, I’ve often left meetings confused, especially when academic or institutional language created barriers. With RIA, the language was clear, the process was respectful, and the work felt grounded. I wasn’t made to feel like a subject of the research — I felt like a collaborator in it.”

    —Quincy Powe, Community Action Council member, Pass the Mic project

  • “As a Black woman in recovery, my leadership is anchored in love, compassion, humility, and a deep understanding of the intersectionality of overdose prevention, structural racism, criminalization, and stigma. We selected Research in Action as a strategic partner for this project because of the organization’s proven leadership championing the capacity and expertise of impacted communities to drive meaningful change.”

    —Pearl Evans, Prevention Program Administrator, Minnesota Department of Health

  • “Working with Research in Action to turn the input from community members into actionable recommendations was critical to securing the policy changes we were able to achieve in a matter of months. And we’re continuing to use the report as a guide for our work moving forward until the community harms of this injustice are fully repaired.”

    —Monica Bravo, Executive Director of the West Side Community Organization

  • “This is the most that we’ve seen Foundational Black Homebuyers in our program. The changes that we’re making are contributing to more individuals getting access to the program and then successfully completing the program.”

    —Shereese Turner, Program Director, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity

  • “They told me Black women helped them write the [Justice in Institutions for Black Women, Girls and Femmes State Survey] questions. I can tell. It resonated with my whole life and actually gave me goosebumps that somebody would even be asking these particular questions.”

    —Cynthia, community member